Apr 13
My friend Jason Martin visited this weekend and shared a table with me at the small press comics show Extra Space in Columbus (it went well, thanks for asking)!
We had a great time nerding out over comics, music, food and comics. Also comics came up quite a bit.
After the show Jason and I decided to do some jam comics where we took turns writing and drawing a panel, hoping to have a coherent comic at the end of the page. I think they came out pretty good.
Apr 05
Masters of the Universe was one of my favorite toy lines when I was a kid. And why not? They were all insanely muscular. Some smelled like hippies and some felt like Astro Turf. Some squirted water and some folded up to look like boulders. Some had cap gun style rounds in their backs that would explode when they punched an opponent (or the family cat). Some could extend parts of their bodies (necks, tongues, arms… even eyeballs). One mosquito monster had a button on his back you could pump to make a blood like substance swirl around in his translucent chest.
Hordak here is a villain who could transform into a tank, shoot buzzsaws from his chest and turn his arm into a vacuum cleaner.
Needless to say these were the weirdest, most insane toys I ever played with and they still make me smile today.
Mar 25
Last year I lost a good friend.
We were roommates for the better part of the last decade and I’ve never felt more at ease around another human being than when I was with him.
And not in a romantic way… it’s hard to explain. There was just never any pretenses. No bullshit. It was like spending time with your most beloved pet only said pet could make jokes, ride a bike and cook amazing food!
Here’s to Doogie. I miss him deeply and am thankful for all the good times we got to share while he was here.
And as David Lee Roth sang on the closing track of Diver Down:
Bom-ba-dee-da-Bom-ba-dee-da
Happy Trails to you,
Until we meet again,
Happy trails to you,
Keep smiling on til then.
Mar 23
Just finished reading “Payback: The Tale of Dengar” written by Dave Wolverton from the Tales of the Bounty Hunters anthology.
When I was a kid Dengar was one of my favorite Star Wars toys. He looked like a mental patient with his bandaged head and what appeared to be an air conditioner strapped to his back… but something about him really appealed to me.
After reading this short story he seems much more interesting; he’s got quite a backstory featuring Han Solo, Boba Fett, Jabba the Hutt and one of Jabba’s dancing girls, Manaroo.
It was a fun read with some depth added to a character I’d always found intriguing… even if the ending was kinda cheesy.
Think I’ll read the one about IG-88 next.
Mar 20
My friend Joe Craven recently started a Chew sketchbook where he’s having different artists do drawings based on the Chewverse characters. I’m honored to be the second artist to contribute and had a bit of fun drawing my favorite cyborg chicken.